the problem with design services

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“I’d  rather  eat  hours  or  go  over  budget  than  do  a  mediocre  job.”    “Clients  don’t  want  to  pay  for  research  and  strategy,  even  though  it  will  save  them  money  in  the  long  run.”    “We  usually  end  up  building  what  the  client  wants  instead  of  what  they  need.”    “We  only  work  with  clients  who  really  get  what  we’re  about.”      

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Characteristics  of  creative  services    •  Intangible,  simultaneous,  heterogeneous,  

perishable  

•  Low  barrier  to  entry,  commoditization  

•  Cost  of  switching:  high  during  project,    low  between  projects  

•  High  “credence  properties”  (hard  to  evaluate)  

•  Loyalty  and  referrals  are  crucial  

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The  expectations  gap    

•  Clients  don’t  want  to  pay  for  the  level  of  quality  we  want  to  provide  

•  Everyone  wants  to  skip  right  to  the  visual  design  

•  A  website  means  something  different  to  me  and  my  client  

•  As  we  learn  more  about  how  to  do  the  work  “properly,”  our  proposals  get  bigger  

•  High  quality  is  often  invisible  

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Strategies    •  Signal  quality  

•  Eat  hours/go  over  budget  

•  Hold  out  for  the  right  kind  of  client  

•  Loss  leaders  

•  Offer  tiers  of  service  

•  Educate  our  clients  

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“An  educated  consumer  is  our  best  customer.”  

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What  do  clients  want?    •  Good  work  product  

•  Fulfill  business  goals  

•  Within  budget  and  schedule  

•  No  surprises  

•  Do  as  little  work  as  possible  

•  Feel  confident  in  their  choice  

•  Look  good  in  front  of  their  boss  

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Trust  

Loyalty  

Value